Hey, is that you?

1) beautiful sunrise 2)dit-dot (lower righthand corner) Glenn's plane departing Columbus' skyline 3) Another zoom shot of his plane in flight 4) A Firkin Friday - Cherry Porter - I only had a taste via tester 5) Our new coffee maker in use 6) Lil' Rocky reclining Friday came fast. Any other week I would've been full of anticipation for this day to come, but because this was a holiday vacation week, it was anticlimatic. Even still, the early morning was lovely and the sunrise to die for. And once again, the high temperature was expected to climb well into the fifties with oodles of sunshine to support that endeavor. I made quick work of my morning routine after rising around 7am. I had to be up early because Lil' Rocky would be coming over around 7:30am. I found a little solace in my walk with Ykraps before the busy day began. We took our time and enjoyed all of the scenery. There was plenty of local wildlife milling about full of energy as if it were spring. Perfect timing. As soon as we returned, Lindsey arrived with Rocky. She brought along his brand new min-recliner. Lindsey left in a flash needing to scurry onto work. The first thing Rocky asked for was Bella and Jacob. I heard them stirring upstairs, so I knew it was just a matter of time before they'd all be up and playing. That time was now! Everyone was downstairs playing within minutes. Mindy got up too. We all enjoyed our early morning together although Bella was already being a "pistol", to use her mother's expression (very whiny & very needy). But anytime you combine a three, a four and a six, you're gonna have some issues. Mindy's close friend Teri and her son Massimo were planning to come over this morning for a play date. She called shortly after 8:15am to let us know that they were on their way. I took that as my queue to get on with my morning run. Before leaving on my run, I took notice of the time. It was 8:35am. Glenn's plane was scheduled to depart CMH at 8:30am. I figured I had a chance of seeing his plane since the skies were clear, so I took my camera outdoors. At first no plane, but as I zoomed in for a pic of a pine cone high in the White Pine out front, a departing Southwest jet appeared just overhead. I figured that to be his flight. I snapped a couple of photos while pondering the significance. Number one, it contained my brother, and number two, just how quickly he came and went. The holiday week flew by. I have run the Trabue route all week and did again today. It was a very nice run. Save for the low hanging sun, it didn't seem at all like winter. As I rounded the curve for home I could see that Teri was not yet at our home. Back inside, Mindy was waiting for me to return so that she could grab a shower. Apparently she didn't feel comfortable showering with all three kids on the prowl. I don't blame her. While Mindy was showering, Teri and Massimo arrived. She brought with her coffee for everyone along with some Tim Bits (donut holes). Apparently that's a tradition whenever she visits. I kept her company while Mindy finished dressing. Teri is a bit like Mindy. She can talk up a storm! Mindy was down from her shower in no time flat. While the kids played together, the two women talked and walked around the house. That allowed me to spend some quality time catching up my blog which has been lagging about three days behind all week. I had forgotten, but Mindy had an 11am doctor's appointment in Grove City. She left Teri at home with me and the kids. I was a tad nervous since I don't know her all that well. We talked the entire time, however, and before we knew it, Mindy phoned to let us know that she was already in route home. Mindy was very concerned with the water she has been retaining since Sunday. It wouldn't be such a big deal if it hadn't been for her bout with Cardiomyopathy just after Jacob's birth six-plus years ago. Retaining water can be a symptom of heart issues, thus her concern. Along with retaining water, she was feeling over tired and sore, too. They took blood samples and would call with results on Saturday. In the meantime they gave her a prescription for Lasix- a commonly used diuretic. And because the sudden loss of body water can also deplete your potassium levels, they gave her a prescription for that, too. Geesh!!! Within an hour of arriving home she was peeing up a storm and reported dropping about 4lbs. by evening. Lindsey arrived to pick-up the Rockmister a little after 4pm. He was pretty good again today. I love having him here with us. After he left I took to the reading chair, which now resides in the formal living room and has throughout the holidays. I began reading my latest Deepak book, Life After Death. After reading the intro, I took a short nap. To my chagrin, the kids were attracted to the livingroom for whatever reason. Being sleepy, this annoyed me. I sought refuge in my room where I could read and nap even more. After about twenty minutes, I decided to get up and get cracking on my coat rack project. The paint was dry so I mounted all ten of the nickel hooks. That didn't take too long. Ashley was due to arrive somewhere near 6:30pm. She was pretty much right on time. She was here to watch the kids while Mindy and I went to Barley's for a spell. We visited with her and Olivia for about 30 minutes. Olivia was such a joy. I played with her all the while Mindy changed for a night out. We left for Barley's around 7pm - earlier than usual by an hour. The bar wasn't very crowded, and I didn't expect it to be given the "tweener" week. Jeremy and Courtney were there, however, so we hung with them. Mindy wasn't drinking for obvious reasons. In fact, we took separate cars just in case she needed/wanted to depart early. I felt I needed a night out. We hung out for about 2.5-3 hours and ate dinner in the process. I had quesadillas and Mindy had tuna. I had three beers: a Barley's Xmas ale, a Bell's Hopslam (very hoppy), and a cask conditioned Kiss My Bitter Ass IPA. We left for home just before 10pm. At home we played with Olivia before she left. She was watching MTV when we arrived. She seemed mesmerized with TV. That's scary, but that's the world we live in. She cooed and talked to me in baby speak which I find absolutely amazing. You see by looking into her eyes that she's trying to communicate. She's just so damn adorable! They left around 10:30pm. We paid Ashley $20 for watching the kids. Mindy went to bed ten minutes later. I stayed up working on the coat hook (removed the small-old one), reading, and watching TV. The lead story tonight was the execution of Saddam Hussein. And as one might expect, the press was having a heyday with the story. For a number of reasons, I couldn't get to sleep so I got up and read some more and watched even more TV.

Haircuts

I was up at 7:30am ready to begin the day. I was hopeful for the sunny day the weather forecasters had predicted, but a look out back revealed more cloud cover. I quickly finished my exercises and took Ykraps on his regular morning walk. Despite the over head clouds, it was quite apparent that the day would end up sunny as the southern sky was almost completely blue, although there were still many gray clouds overhead. I took that in stride. Mindy and the kids were up and about when I returned from the morning walk. After some coffee and blogging Mindy readied to leave for her hair appointment. She took Bella with her. I, in turn, would be taking Jacob with me. I was planning a hair cut too. I have not had one since the week before our Portland trip. I would have Jacob's hair cut too. I spent an hour uprighting all of my Xmas pictures from the last week. There were some three hundred to go through. Jacob and I left for Saturday's around 12:40pm. I figured that should put both Mindy and I at her mom's around the same time. Jacob and I got our haircut simultaneously. Jacob was uncharacteristically quiet through the experience. He was still under the weather from a cold. We tipped our hairdressers well and left feeling good about our hair. We arrived at Gloria's ahead of Mindy. We went in and chatted with Gloria for about twenty minutes prior to Mindy arriving. Once Mindy finally showed, we started on the chores Gloria needed done. First, we loaded the old 19 inch color TV that's been sitting idle for 6 years into the back of the Trooper. I'd be putting it out with all of our trash tonight. Next, we replaced the security light fixture on the front porch. I was fearful of using Gloria's old rickety ladder but did any how. Mindy helped steady the ladder while I climbed and worked. Back inside we visited some more. Before leaving we installed the new toilet seat that we bought her for Xmas, too. We left for home around 3pm. When we got home Mindy warmed the leftover Chinese food from the night before. It was still very good! After finishing off the Chinese, I began work on the new laundry room coat rack. I've had the materials for a few weeks now. I had to cut the board to size (66 inches), and then miter the ends to tuck neatly behind the wood work. next, I used my palm sander to remove all of the moderately sharp edges from the pine 1X4. During my labor, Lindsey called to ask once gain if we could watch Lil' Rocky tomorrow while she works. At first we declined but later called back to accept. After all, he's very good when he's over, and I feel like I want and need to spend more time with him. I took the finished board down to the basement to apply a coat of paint before mounting the coat hooks. That went quickly using some leftover paint from Jacob's room. After painting I took Ykraps on his evening walk. The day was moving swiftly. It was already evening after what seemed like an awfully short day. These stay at home vacations have a way of doing that.. I need the idle rest, however, and was more than ready to trade the hustle and bustle for idle time. I spent even more time catching up on the blog and editing pictures. Believe it or not, the day was about done. It was already evening time and time for the kids to ready for bed. I took Ykraps for his evening walk right as the sun was setting. And because the weather was so nice, all the neighbors were out walking, riding bikes, and puttering their yards. I found it funny when one of my neighbors approached me to warn me of a coyote. After a few minutes of talk, it turns out that he's never seen it but only heard it of it from neighbors, Pat & Lisa, whom I warned of its presence. I talked with a handful of other neighbors about it just so they don't leave their little dogs out unattended only to become coyote food. Back at home I completed a few other miscellaneous chores before Mindy decided it was once again time to get the kids ready for bed. After a read and tuck, Mindy and I found ourselves with some much needed alone time. We talked about our 2007 wedding, the kids, our budget and possible travel plans. It now sounds like I may travel solo to Oregon for the annual ski trip. Mindy would have a hard time getting the extra time off and would struggle justifying leaving the kids for five straight days. We'll see. I may go with brother Tommy or friend Bob. Again, we'll have to see. Sometime near 8pm I tried to call brother Glenn to discuss his flight tomorrow morning but his phone was turned off. I drank a few beers over the course of the evening and popped a bag of popcorn too. I haven't popped any since last Thursday, although I did have some at the movies yesterday. I cracked a Little King after a honey Raspberry Ale. I couldn't finish it. It was terrible! I guess those will be around until Glenn's next visit. After dumping the Little King I opened the Arrogant Bastard that Kevin gifted me the night of our 'friends' Xmas party. After one bag of popcorn I was still hungry. Instead of popping yet another bag of corn, we baked a cookie sheet full of Mindy's mom's "fixins". They're pretty much like Chex mix. After eating some fixins I returned to basement where I applied a second coat of paint to the coat rack board. Come about 10:15pm we headed to bed.

Rocky 1

Mindy and I took the kids to see Happy Feet at the Lennox. Ding-Ho: A westside tradition. Mindy and I partook in some Chinese after the movie & without kids. I leaped to my feet just before 7:30am. And before I could even get the morning's coffee brewing, Lindsey arrived with Lil' Rocky. We agreed to watch him today while Lindsey works. He was eager to see Bella and Jacob, and the kids were awake and eager to see him. They began playing immediately. The house was rockin! Mindy joined me downstairs earlier than usual. She was up to help me with Lil' Rocky. The kids played well together all morning long. After my run Mindy readied for an afternoon of gift returns while I entertained the kids. Jacob kept to himself most of the early afternoon while Bella and Lil' Rocky played together. While Mindy was out, I broke the cordless sweeper but managed to fix it, too. She called to let me know she was on her way home after being gone only an hour and one half. She reported no significant lines at either place - Target or Toys R' Us. And in typical Mindy fashion, she came out ahead on the deal. First, the gave her 30% off of the Leapster replacement since it was now on sale, and she was given a full cash refund for the extra cartridge she returned with the keyboard, which she paid only one dollar for at the time of original purchase. Again, classic Mindy! When Mindy returned we organized ourselves around the 3:20pm movie. We were taking the kids to see Happy Feet. Jacob and Bella saw it before but seemed eager to see it again. I just wanted to get everyone out of the house together. We left around 2:45pm and arrived at the Lennox close to 3:10pm. Five matinee tickets, two large popcorns, and two medium drinks - $50. The movie better be good! We found seats at the top of the theatre before the movie began. The movie began minutes later. Although it was slow developing, especially for a kids movie, it was a fun, interesting movie. The animation was excellent. And most of the artic sea and snow graphics work was superbly done. The movie ended just after 5pm. Mindy called Jimaken to arrange for the pick-up of Jacob and Bella and I retuned Lindsey's call. She had already been to our home looking for Rocky. She told me that she was working OT until 7pm. I assumed that nothing changed. We promised to drop him at Kelly's after dropping J & B off to their daddy, who was waiting in our driveway. Suddenly, by 5:45pm we were all alone! After pulling away from Mindy's we chose a new dinner venue, Ding-Ho - a westside Cantonese tradition. I was excited to go there eventhough it was Mindy's idea. :) I recommended Minelli's, but admittedly, we do that an awful lot.. I couldn't resist the urge for a picture or two once at Ding-Ho. I got a couple of good shots. My favorite might be one of Mindy against the Motel 40 sign. I ordered a Mai Tai, and Mindy had only water. For dinner I ordered War Su Gai, and Mindy ordered Happy Family. We each ordered the soup and appetizer combo along with our meal. The food was really good. I was pleasantly surprised. And while the decor was old fashioned it was very clean and neat inside. I was keenly observant because of all the Ding-Ho jokes I heard growing up. We left for home just after 7pm. The kids and Jimaken arrived shortly after we walked in the door. Jacob asked if he watch at least part of the bowl game coming on at 8:00pm. We agreed that he could watch 30 minutes but only after a quick bath. He was happy with what he had negotiated.After the kids were in bed Mindy and I got in the hot tub. I mentioned to Mindy that we needed the Coyote to come back since Bella and I spotted geese in the yard earlier in the day. And almost as if I manifested it, I thought that I saw the Coyote moving in the shadows of the uplighting. Mindy and I looked aggressively out into the dark yard. Sure enough, there he was, about 30 feet off of the deck lurking in the dark. I barked like a dog. He only flinched then smoothly meandered into the neighbors yard. It was kind of early thinking that he was stalking us. Mindy got out of the tub shortly after he disappeared into the dark. I joked that she should keep an eye on me while I get out and put the top back on. Just as I was heading back into the house I spotted our neighbor walking her dog in the back yard. I yelled over to her to watch out for the Coyote. She has a little Bichon Frise that would make for a great night time snack. As the evening wound down, we threw in The Miracle on 34th St. DVD. I missed the final 30 minutes or so on Xmas eve. Cool movie.

The Day After - Box Day

I leisurely crawled out of bed somewhere near 8:00am. Neither one of us were in a big hurry. I went about my exercise and walked Ykraps in a relatively short amount of time. All I really had planned was a morning run. That felt great! Mindy slept in until almost 10am, although the kids had her awake more than a couple of times. I left for my run late by most definitions but then again, I had no where to be or no reason to clock watch. It was a great run. I could've run all day. I noticed as I ran by Raymond golf course that a couple of folks were out swinging 'em. Again ,the weather was milder than mild, and the week long outlook looks better with each passing day. By week's end we're expecting mid 50's and sunshine. I returned for more coffee and playtime with Jacob. We spent the mid day playing football in the basement. I have to play on my knees which hurts like hell. We played for almost an hour. Meanwhile, upstairs, Mindy had reduced the out-of-control pile around our tree significantly by throwing out unnecessary toy boxes and such. We actually had a little wiggle room. Mindy searched all of her Xmas shopping receipts for the Leapster and keyboard receipt hoping to return both on Wednesday. She found receipts for everything she'd bought over the past couple of months save for the keyboard. That one proved illusive! Later in the afternoon Gloria called to confirm her visit for later in the afternoon/evening. Mindy left to fetch her somewhere near 3:00pm. Ashley called, too, to let us know that her and Olivia would be visiting. She got a new digital camera for Xmas and wanted some help figuring out the functionality. Gloria arrived around 3:30-4:00pm. We visited for a while, and then Mindy warmed leftovers from Xmas - ham, green beans, as well as other holiday goodies. During my evening Ykraps walk, Ash and Olivia arrived. When we returned from our walk, Gloria was holding Olivia. Very sweet! I went in and gave Ashley a hug. We all visited for a while longer until Gloria asked Mindy to take her home. I'd guess that was near 6pm or so. Ashley stayed until about 7pm checking out Xmas pictures and eating some goodies. After she left we played a little more with the kids but then eventually put them to bed. They were in bed before 8pm. We stayed up a couple hours longer, and once again, I enjoyed a few Jack and Cokes. I was feeling no pain by bedtime!

"It's Xmas - Can't we all just get along"

1) A gift 2) Mindy opeing her fuzzy socks 3) Jimmy's Dremel Tool 4) Old Man's Cave get-away 5) Mindy's gifts under the tree Merry Xmas!! What was that noise? Was it Santa Claus? No. Were the kids up milling about the hallway? No, not that I could see. Where was all this noise coming from? Turns out, Jacob had gotten up at 5am to seek what Santa had brought him. Mindy insisted that he go back to sleep. He found his way to the foot of our bed where laid thrashing about until about 7:30am. His continuous stream of noise woke me several times and for good. I asked Mindy for some time to knock out my exercises before the kids embarked on their Xmas experience, and she kindly obliged me by keeping Jacob at bay. Bella was still sleeping. Jacob came downstairs but Mindy didn't allow him into the family room where Santa had placed most, if not all, of his gifts. I was back from walking Ykraps in no time at all. And for the record, it was a drizzly, gray, & mild Xmas day. That makes two in a row. If you recall, the early wintry weather we endured last year ended abruptly just a couple days before Xmas leaving in its wake, cool, gray, damp, and dreary. The winter chill (daily high's below freezing) never reappeared until February, and even then it never sunk too low. Mindy put the our Xmas breakfast casserole in the oven just before we got going with the gift opening. It was time to open gifts. The kids were as excited as ever. I was there with them last year too, but I had forgotten the mystique that surrounds such a morning for them. They were beyond syked! They dumped their stockings first, a Mindy Thompson family tradition. It was full of all sorts of things - but mostly candy and toiletries. Onto their "Santa" gifts - another Mindy Thompson tradition. They both had a heaping pile of these gifts, although Jacob worked his way through his in a matter of just a few minutes, never stopping to revel in anyone particular item. Bella, on the other hand, took time to celebrate each item and wanted to fully open the package and play. I In fact, we had to encourage her to move onto the next. And just like any big brother would do whose pile was exhausted, Jacob insisted on helping Bella open hers. After the Santa gifts, the kids moved on to their Mommy - Jimmy gifts. They had a healthy stack of those, too. Jacob's most prized gifts seemed to be his new Game Boy Advanced and his authentic junior sized NFL football. Bella got a high-end electronic piano and a Leapster personal electronic game console, too. Sadly, both of her personal electronic devices were defective. They'd both need returned. She found other things to play with though - mostly make-up and stuff. Now it was time to move onto big people gifts. Mindy asked that I go next. In my stocking were lots of my favorite toiletries: some deodorant, mouthwash, chewing gum, and new electric toothbrush heads. Included in my personal pile of gifts were some pink Floyd pajamas, a new running shirt, and a Columbia fleece jacket (I was with her when she bought the latter two items). I also got a Deluxe Dremel Tool kit with a plethora of attachments. Watch out Dr March. Now I'm a dentist too! A warning comes with each Dremel Tool that it shouldn't be used for personal dentistry. :) My surprise gift was a bottle of champagne with a card attached that told of a weekend get-away in Hocking Hills over Martin Luther-King weekend. Next, it was Mindy's turn. In her stocking, Mindy got some sterling silver "big" earrings, some Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, and a Charles Penzone's GC for a full body massage. In her pile of gifts she got two pair of pajamas, some soft & fluffy socks, a case of wine, some perfume. Her special gift was a photo album I built that contained pictures of memorable events from each month of the past year all labeled and in order. Just as our gift exchange came to an end, brother Tommy and his girlfriend Heather arrived (we were expecting them). Glenn woke too. Just as they began opening their gifts, I went and found my running clothes for a yuletide run. I headed out into the Xmas morning air - again, it was gray & mild with a hint of drizzle every now and then, but nothing to heavy coming down. I made my way back home by about 10:30am or so. I changed back into my pajamas then returned downstairs for some breakfast casserole and mimosa. Everyone else had already eaten - the price I pay for being a runner! http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061227/ap_on_sc/cinnamon_sound Glenn called and connected with my dad to plan his pick-up and ultimate drop-off/hand-off to my mom somewhere close to halfway between Columbus and Jackson. Minutes later, dad arrived to pick him up. Tommy and Heather departed for other family activities. I got in the shower while everyone visited. I bidded Glenn farewell just in case I wouldn't see him after my shower. Despite staying in Ohio until early Friday morning, he very likely had spent his last day with all of us. He would spend the rest of the week with our mother. After my shower they were still there. We said goodbye one more time to both Dad and Glenn. After the left we loaded the Trooper with gifts, goodies, and kids and headed to Mindy's mom's for Xmas with the Thompson's. We arrived at Gloria's house around 1:20pm. We were uncharacteristically late and the last folks there. Mindy said her momma would not be happy. Like last Xmas, everyone was gathered in the family room in the lower level, and more than half the room was filled with Xmas presents. All of Mindy's siblings and their families were there minus the two fireman, her brother Todd and brother-in-law, Larry, who were both on duty today. Her brother Craig brought a couple of friends (John & Steve) who are from the DC area. They have a very interesting story. They met at a Catholic Monastery in upstate NY twenty some years ago. Since leaving, John has become a Community College President and Steve an artist and Clinical Psychologist. The gift exchange began almost as soon as we arrived. Todd, who was on duty, was able to get away for an hour or so to do gifts. The gift exchange went on for nearly two hours as each gift bearer took a turn passing out all of their gifts. The little ones got oodles of presents, but come to think of it, so did the adults. We didn't have a formal sit down dinner, but there was plenty of food for all. We hung out for the better part of the day. Before gathering everything to leave we all headed upstairs for the Thompson Xmas tradition of 'ice box' cookies. Leaving was another adventure. We filled two 55 gallon trash bags full of gifts as well as two other large shopping bags. Plus we had a couple of large boxes. Finally, we were destined for home. At home Mindy readied the kids for bed and then she and I had a drink. I had Jack and Coke. She had wine. We were in bed before 10pm.

Xmas Eve & driving the BM'er

Perhaps my favorite day of the year, Xmas Eve. And a sunny day it was. I was up early enough - about 8am. The sky was blue and the sun was shining brightly. After making quick work of my morning exercise regiment I took to the streets with Ykraps in tow. It was hard to believe that it was Xmas time with all the birds singing. There was more than a hint of warmth in the morning air, too. When I returned, Mindy and I spent a few tranquil minutes on the deck soaking in the warm sunshine, although it was admittedly a little chilly to be outdoors without a jacket. After several coffees I dawned my running clothes and took off on an exciting Xmas Eve run. It was a most pleasant run, too, with tons of sunshine and blue skies. It was nearly 10:30am when I finished. Mindy had already decided to forego church and choir. Instead, Mindy made ham & scrambled eggs for breakfast. By the time I returned, Glenn was awake, too. I poured each of us a mimosa. After breakfast, I scrawled out another grocery list of a few items we'd need to pull off yet another Xmas gathering with my girls & grandchildren this afternoon. And since it was so nice, I chose to drive the BM'er - top down! It was a lovely drive through Arlington - Cambridge, to Waltham to Tremont, and ultimately to the Chambers road Kroger. My list wasn't long - ice, beer, spaghetti sauce, orange juice and buns. I like grocery shopping on Xmas eve - always have. In fact, I make it a point to get out each year. Back at home, I iced the beer and cracked open a Celebration Ale, which is very early for me. I poured the spaghetti sauce over the meatballs and turned on the crock pot.. I took to the backyard to snap a couple of photos of the brilliant Xmas Eve weather. We heard from Ashley who was at Grandma Rosemary's. She let us know that they would be coming much earlier than we originally anticipated. They'd be here closer to 2pm instead of 4pm. About the same time, Glenn phoned dad to learn his whereabouts and the timing of Bob's Xmas Eve get together. To his surprise, it was going on as they spoke. We gave Glenn Mindy's mini-van keys so that he could make his way to Bob's for the afternoon. Next on my agenda was baking some Xmas cookies. And while baking cookies, I browned some sausage for Mindy's breakfast casserole. About halfway through baking the cookies, the kids showed up (Ashley, Olivia, Lindsey, Lil' Rocky). Lil' Rocky was excited about opening gifts, so we decided to get going with our gift exchange right out of the shoot. Truth be told, we purposefully wrapped all of Lil' Rocky's gifts individually and conversely consolidated many of Olivia's to make it appear that Rocky received so much more. Of course this wasn't the case, but because Lindsey likes to keep score. Rocky was his same old self around his mother. He was out of control and Lindsey demonstrated her lack of good parenting skills. Everyone was on edge. On two different occasions, Lil' Rocky almost crushed Olivia under his feet during a tantrum and bickered with his mother for almost the entire time. Lindsey badgered Ash for the better part of the afternoon also. I felt sad for all of us. The hope I held that the last couple of months might have changed Lindsey some certainly did not pan out. The kids readied to leave some time after 4pm. Before they left, there mother called to ask them what they wanted for Xmas. She was just leaving for the stores, which closed in less than 2 hours. Are you kidding me??? They also told us that their tree wasn't up all the way either. Whatever - different strokes! After they left Mindy and I enjoyed a little solace. We took Ykraps for a walk, too. Sometime around 7:10pm Jamaken brought the kids home after celebrating Xmas with his family for the past 24 hours or so. The kids were very excited for Santa's ultimate arrival. They placed the usual cookies and milk on the table just for Santa, and then went up to bed. They were a little tough getting to bed, however, especially Bella. Jacob went to sleep fairly easily, though. As soon as the kids were down, we did the Santa thing. Mindy left all of their gifts hanging in the kitchen out of the view of the balcony until she was certain that they were out cold. In turn, I went down and brought all of Mindy's gifts up. Just about the time we were putting the finishing touches on the kids piles, Uncle Glenn arrived home after an afternoon and evening at brother Bob's. When we finished we each relaxed with our favorite holiday spirits. Around 10pm we got in the hot tub. After hot tubbing, Mindy found the movie, Miracle on 34th St and put it in the DVD player. Glenn and I hadn't seen it before. It was good, but I fell asleep about 2/3 the way through. Mindy woke me up just after midnight to head upstairs for bed.

Wright Family Xmas Party

1) My mom , Ashley, Olivia 2) grand kids - Kaileigh & Lil' Rocky 3) Aunt Char, Dad, Sheila, brother Shawn, and girl friend Kelly 4) Glenn, Connie, Randy, Tommy, Aunt Char 5) Glenn, Connie, and Dodie I hadn't hosted a large family Xmas party in my Newell Drive home before. Come to think of it, I had done it only once anywhere. That was on Valleyview Drive several years ago. At least two attendees from that party are dead now - Grandma Lantz and Uncle George. Saturday started early. I was up around 7:30am after wisely choking down three Advil just before bedtime. We had a very busy day planned thus an early start was key to successful execution. Mindy stayed in bed while started the day with exercise and a walk of Ykraps. Because I was up early, I was treated to some sunshine and blue skies. But just as I finished up my walk with Ykraps the sky began to cloud over for what I'd later learn would last through the day's duration. Once back from my walk I prepared some coffee and downloaded pictures from the night before. I wasted little time preparing for my run since, once again, I was eager to get the day moving. Not only were we expecting 30 or so house guests later this afternoon, but we still had oodles of food to prepare, and a handful of party gifts to wrap. And despite the fact that Mindy had been grocery shopping the afternoon before, we already had another list started for forgotten items. I checked my laptop and Blackberry to see how work was going after not being paged all night long. And thankfully, work appeared to be quiet as a mouse. I left for my run around 8:30am. I took the Trabue Rd route. It was a fun run. Back at home, Mindy was up and searching for coffee. Glenn was still asleep. We started concocting our Xmas party entrees almost immediately. The noise or the hour finally woke Glenn. He joined us downstairs sometime near 10am ET. The first thing that Mindy and I prepared was our Xmas ham. We had a 14 lb whole ham that first needed to be etched then basted with her mother's own special recipe. We had the ham in the oven by 11am. Next I began the sausage bake and buffalo chicken dip, both of which are first time recipes for me. I muffed the buffalo dip a little but nothing that couldn't be cured by doubling the recipe. Unfortunately, that meant I was a full 10 ounce can of chicken short. I added that to my growing grocery list. While all of that slowly cooked, I took a shower before heading out to Kroger. I left for Kroger near 12:15pm. As I exited the subdivision I decided to hit the ghetto Kroger close to the ghetto Target on West Broad St. My thinking was that I could kill two birds with one stone. We were one nutcracker short of finding the perfect one for each of our siblings. First I hit Target and found the nutcracker we needed. To my surprise, they were 33% off today! Wahoo! Onto Kroghetto! I have only been in this Kroger once in maybe the last three years. It's not dirty by any means but the crowd is pretty lowly, and the selection a bit depleted. In the door it was quickly apparent that they were short of the items on my list. I was none too pleased. I decided quickly to abandon this Kroger and head to another. At first I thought that I'd head to Arlington/Grandview, but as I was pulling away I remembered the New Kroger at Galloway Rd. It is a very nice & very large Kroger. That turned out to be a wise choice. They had everything on my list. At the entrance, one of our engineers was ringing the Salvation Army bell. I gave him $10 and wished he and his cute family a very merry Xmas as I left. Home! I arrived home and quickly finished up our recipes. Time, meanwhile, was slipping away. It was almost 3:00pm. Jim Manken called around 3:15pm to let us know that he and the kids were on their way home. Before 4pm, guests began arriving. First it was mom, Chuck, then Ashley, Olivia, and Lil' Rocky. And not long after, other family members like Dad, Sheila, Dodie, Connie, Randy, Travis, Samuel arrived. Soon we had a house full. This was the first time we had seen Evan, brother Bob and April's newest addition. Brother Tommy showed up with his step-daughter Jacqueline and her two kids, Bradley and Zoey. Later, my grand-daughter Kaileigh arrived as did brother Shawn, Kelly, Lil' Shawn and Brooklyn arrived. We had a house full. All that food we prepared and no one seemed to be eating. At least not early on. After some time, however, the shyness wore off and our guests began eating, ultimately making a serious dent in all of our festive party concoctions. Aunt Charlene showed up with her longtime boyfriend, Robert. This was the first time any of us met him. She got the party hopping with singing and dancing. Soon everyone was up - all but Glenn. Despite lots of coaxing, he just wouldn't get up and out there. A surprise really, since he used to be the one dancing like a crazy man. He seemed completely withdrawn when it came to dancing. Even the kids joined in the fun. We went through lots of beer and a few bottles of wine before it was all said and done. Some of us even did some buttery nipple shots after our parents departed. Before midnight, Dodie, Connie, and Randy left with their kids. Tommy stayed back helping us clean the mess. Glenn, Tom and I did a shot of Jack as a night capper! Tommy left about an hour later - sometime near 1am. After cleaning up most of the mess, the rest of us, Mindy, Glenn, Ykraps and I retired.

Let the Xmas celebration begin

1) Mannheim Steamroller 2) The Friday night firkin 3) Glenn & Ykraps - a warm holiday embrace Once again, I was wise enough to take a few Advil before giving in to sleep. I managed to get out of bed and get moving around 5:45am. I felt pretty good despite drinking a handful of beers the night before. The house was quiet and would remain that way since the kids were gone with their father and Glenn would almost certainly sleep until at least 9 or 10am. I left for work around 7:40am. Mindy agreed to wrap more of the gifts I had for my girls and family to further reduce the stress of too much to do with relatively little time. I arrived to work on time. I had a lot weighing on my mind. I had more gifts to wrap, work to contend with, and the holiday on-call curse weighing on me heavily. Work was beginning to wind down just as we had hoped it would. And as the day wore on it continued to dwindle. For this I was very happy! I left for what would be my last from-work run of the year around 12:30pm. After my run I was planning a quick run to Macy's for one last Mindy gift. And after my run I did just that. I slid into the mall the back way avoiding the I-270 holiday traffic snarl. I ran into Macy's and got the ear rings i wanted for Mindy. I was back at work in about 20 minutes after I had left. That was fast and efficient! Once back in my office, I wrapped the earings and the home spun gift I toiled with all week. I also did Mindy's Xmas card and letter. I felt a great bit of relief after finishing those looming tasks of love. :) Mindy and I remained in contact most of the day. Her and Glenn had been grocery shopping and were making Xmas cookies. I left work at 4pm after spending the last hour talking with my peers. It felt good to leave work an hour early affording me an opportunity to relax a little before leaving for our night out. Once home I made quick work of my routine chores. I walked Ykraps alone to help unwind. The Mannheim Steamroller concert started at 7:30 and we were scheduled to meet Mindy's friend, Chris at Barley's around 7pm. We collectively decided that we wanted ot be at Barley's by 6:30pm so that we'd have time for a beer or two. We readied and left the house by 6:15pm. We arrived at Barley's at 6:30 just as planned. The bar was'nt too crowded by any means. For that we were happy. We all ordered drinks, Glenn and I had Xmas ale's on the firkin and Mindy a glass of Shiraz. Just as we settled at a small table near the entrance our new friends, Mark and Trudy came in. The recognized us first. We met them a month or so ago, the night we landed from our Portland trip and headed directly to Barley's. That night they took quick notice of Mindy's new ring and before we knew it, we spent almost the entire evening together chatting and partying. They are a lot of fun and like most Barley couples - a bit ecentric and very interesting. They met Glenn, too, and bought each of us a drink. I had two beers before Chris, Mindy's friend and Glenn's Mannheim date arrived. Chris came to Barley's straight from B.O.M.A. (Bar of Modern Art). She seemed very nice but looked a little older than I had envisioned. Her and Glenn struck up conversation right away, however. We left for the show at the Schott minutes later. We arrived at the venue a couple minutes late but concerts always start late. By the time we made it into the Schott the show had just begun. We had to watch their intia lsong from the wings as the ushers didn't permit any traffic in the auditorium mid-song. We eventually found our seats at the top of the Schott. They were still very good, however, because we were directly up and across from the stage which made for excellent viewing. Glenn and I were seemingly the only cncert patrons hooting and hollering between songs. I could tell that Chris was mortified and even Mindy was a little surprised. I knew we were in trouble whe nonly Glenn and I ordered drinks. Despite the reactions, Glenn and I continued with our celebratory antics. Between each song we made a point to exagerate our festive appreciation of Mannheim's music. They were really good! In fact, they were better than they were the last time I saw them. This time was ALL Xmas music unlike before when it was a combo of Xmas and traditional music. The show ended around 9:40pm and by the tiem we were in the car and on the road it was just after 10pm. We called Barley's while in route and placed food orders. Chris didn't want anythign. I assumed then that she wasn't too impressed with our celebratory ways. Oh well! Finally back at Barley's Chris bidded us farewell and went on her way. Glenn, Mindy, and I went back inside for more holiday fun. Everyone was still there partying. Most of the usual gang was there now too - Rick, Bob & Mary Ann, Steve, & Dan. Mark and Trudy were still there too. We drank more beer and ate some outstanding Barley food. We stayed until about 11:30pm when Mindy became overwhelmed with sleepiness. All of us were very tired once home .We went almost staight to bed. We had a big day ahead and would need as much beauty rest as we could get..

Winter solstice 7:22pm ET

Not sure what time it was when I woke for work, but without question it was between 5:30 and 6:00am. Mindy didn't have school so my goal was to keep any noise to a low hum so not to disturb her early winter slumber. I went about my morning prep as usual but once again I had no need to pack my lunch since I was buying pizzas for everyone at work today. It would be my little gift to all of them. Mindy got up before I left and the kids were awake, too (of course). Mindy would be taking the kids to grandma Sharon's for her kiddie Xmas party. Mindy would then have a large chunk of time to wrap some presents and finish any last minute shopping. Late in the afternoon she would be heading to the airport to pick-up brother Glenn. It was a drippy, rainy day and the temperature soared to near 60 degrees. The rain came down hard for most of the morning, but lucky for me it all but stopped mid-day making for reasonable running conditions. I left for my run early, and picked up the pizzas for my team immediately following. I bought them from Joseppi's in Hilliard - next to Kroger. I was early so I ran in Kroger and grabbed some soda for the pizza lunch and some holiday booze for home. Back at the office we enjoyed the Joseppi's pizzas. The afternoon breezed by but we were busy dealing with some fairly significant escalations. The workload was slowly getting down to holiday levels but there were still a few big issues. I talked with Mindy and my Dad a couple of times during the day arranging Glenn's airport pick-up. My dad deferred the pick-up to Mindy until the very last minute when he called to report that he was already there and suggested I call and let Mindy know. She had just picked up the kids and was headed that way when I called. She was more than happy to skip the airport pick-up and instead head straight home. Later I received a call from Mindy stating that Glenn was at the airport but no Dad. I called dad to let him know that Glenn was waiting. They finally figured out the problem. My dad was waiting by the main security entrance, but Glenn flew in on Southwest which uses an alternative security gate. Duh! I went about wrapping up my day and left for home around 5:10pm. It was a very rainy drive home. The traffic was terrible. I got a call form Glenn telling me he was on his way to my home. At my home Ashley, Olivia, Mindy and kids were eagerly anticipating his arrival. I arrived just after all of them. I was my normal stressed out self needing some time to unwind after a long work day. I was stressed over my coming on-call Xmas weekend and everything associated with making Xmas go as planned. Eventually I calmed and things went well. We had a lot of fun sitting around talking and sharing stories. Tommy showed up some time later and stayed for a few hours. After 4 or 5 hours of fun we all headed to bed. I still had one more work day ahead.

Celebrating the season with co-workers

I attempted to squeeze in every minute of sleep possible without risking being late. That equated into getting up at 5:50am. And just like the night before, the sky was filled with brilliant stars. I made very quick work of my exercise and walk with Ykraps. And while I was preparing morning coffee, Mindy came downstairs. That's rare! She came down to get her breakfast casserole started. Admittedly, she had asked me to put it in the oven but I forgot. After she preheated the oven she returned upstairs to get a shower and to dress. She had also requested an earlier wake-up call. Oops! I didn't need to pack her lunch - only my own. She didn't want breakfast either since they were having a breakfast potluck at school. Come 6:40am, after playing on my PC I realized that Mindy never did load the casserole into the oven she only preheated it. Again, oops! I put it in. Mindy wanted to leave early but her casserole slowed her down. She didn't leave until her usual time - about 7:20am. After she left I showered and dressed. I didn't leave for work until 7:55am. I arrived around 8:10am. I didn't accomplish much before I needed to depart for Bella's Xmas show. I left the office at 9:25am destined for her pre-school on Briggs Rd. I arrived at about 9:50am. Grandma Sharon was there in the parking lot with a car load of kids. In the group of kids was Jacob and Lil' Rocky. Rocky gave me a big hug and so did Jacob. We all walked in together. After finding seats, I took a few pictures of all the kids. Soon, Mindy and her mother arrived as did Jim Manken - Bella's daddy. She show began by the teacher having everyone join in Xmas carols. She had a really nice voice. The kids' show finally started. And if you've ever been to an early elementary Xmas show, imagine one with kids even younger. It was really cute. Without a doubt the Latinos have the "boogie" gene. Bella was very dramatic, not only with her swinging hips but with her hand gestures and her eyebrows! I laughed out loud a number of times. I got 30 seconds of video too. After the show ended, everyone was invited in for cookies and cake with the kids. I chose not to stay. Instead, I headed back to work for our 11am staff meeting. I made it back to the office and to the meeting by 11:05am. My boss wasn't there yet. I was on time! Our meeting went until 1pm - a full two hours. By then, I was hungry and chompin' at the bit to get running. I hurried back to my office and woofed down my stash of nuts and then promptly left for my run. I made it back from my run at 2:05pm. We were all set to have our team Xmas outing beginning at 3pm, so I had little time to do much else. I left for the Brazenhead at 2:45pm, making a couple quick holiday stops along the way. Brazen we learned, was not open until 4pm. Everyone congregated at the Dublin Tavern until just before 4pm. At 400pm we made our way a block north to Brazenhead. They were finally open. I went to my car to grab the card for Jim McK and my camera. Brazenhead has three levels. We took to the lower level (basement) where they have a cozy fireplace and bar. There we ordered Christmas Ales and tons of appetizers. We hung out until about 7pm. But a few left earlier. I arrived home just after 7:30pm. The kids were just about ready for bed when I arrived. I helped Mindy get the kids in bed and then we hung out for about another hour. We went to bed ourselves just after 9pm. I took a couple Advil to help stave off any potential headache from the three beers I drank.

Slow Down!

Happy B-Day Dad, Char, and Grandma! I didn't catch much of the Bengals game the night before, but I figured they lost. They were sporting a more than porous defense when I lost interest and gave way to sleep. I woke Tuesday morning close to 5:30am. And just like most other days, I exercised and walked Ykraps in short order. I was sitting at my PC checking the MNF score and reading the Daily OM with a hot cup of coffee in hand by 6am. As expected, the Bengals lost to the Colts. I began prepping food and making breakfast shortly there after. Today was Jacob's last day of school until next year. He seemed indifferent to it. Give him time. Once he starts school everyday, he'll understand that it's a requirement to be jubilant when school finally lets out for Xmas. Everyone was on their way by 7:20am. I showered and dressed for work and was back downstairs by 7:35am. It was another beautiful morning like so many of late. We're getting awfully spoiled with all of this autumn like weather. I left for work at 7:50 and arrived by 8:05am. Work was busy but we could see the usual holiday slowdown approaching. Still, there was plenty to do! I left for my run at 12:30pm - a little earlier than usual. My run went well. It was about 44 degrees at runtime. It was chilly enough to minimize sweating but warm enough to not be bothersome. After my run I showered, dressed, and then headed for the Trooper. I had a couple Xmas errands to run. I stopped at Tuttle Mall to hit the Macy's preview sale. The item I wanted was not available.Oh well! Back to work. I was back at work at my usual time - 2pm. The afternoon was busier than expected. It was after 5pm when I was finally able to leave for the day. Mindy had already called and firmed dinner plans. She was making polish sausage and sauer kraut - a dish we both have come to love. I called her as I was driving home to let her know that I was stopping at Target. I needed to get a few things for Kaileigh and some picture frames. While there I ran into brother Bob doing some Xmas minute shopping, too. He confirmed his families attendance at the family Xmas party this coming Saturday. I arrived home by 6:30pm. Dinner was all but ready. I walked Ykraps and put my running clothes in the dryer. I can't enjoy dinner with those pre-meal chores hanging over my head. Finally, by 6:50pm I was enjoying dinner. It was delicious! After dinner I made quick work of the dishes while Mindy took care of some kiddie issues. The kids played in the basement for a few before Mindy incented them to head upstairs to ready for bed. While they readied for bed, I updated my blog. After the kids were asleep Mindy and wrapped gifts while I printed off selected photos for each of our siblings and parents, which would serve as Xmas gifts. After printing the photos we framed and boxed all eleven. We decided to wrap them later. After all that fun we decided to get in the hot tub. It was a clear, starry night. We enjoyed the warmth and comfort of the hot tub for about twenty minutes. I mentioned to Mindy that I was ready for the week to slow now that Tuesday was behind us. The rest of the week will be crammed with lots of activities; parties, shows, and travel. We went to bed at 10:50pm - late for us.

Time Out

I purposefully slept until I could sleep no more. It was Monday morning and just before I rolled out of bed, Mindy's alarm went off. I heard the weatherman mention that it was 54 degrees and it was only 5:45am. That's warm! There will be plenty of morning's in late May that won't be nearly that warm. Check me on it!! I took my vitamin, exercised, and walked Ykraps as the clock struck 6am. While on my walk I convinced myself to go into work late and use the time to wrap Mindy's gifts. I was at peace with my decision. When else am I going to have time? I went about my morning just as I would any other day. I didn't want Mindy to know what I was planning, although I did mention it in passing over the weekend. She left at her usual time - about 7:20am. As soon as she pulled away I logged into work via my laptop and sent my team and boss a message indicating that I'd be late. Next, I began organizing myself around wrapping. It took almost half an hour to gather the gifts, the materials, and the right boxes. Finally, come almost 8am I was ready to begin wrapping. I wrapped until almost 9:30am. And for whatever reason, I felt incredibly stressed. For one, I couldn't make up my mind what to do with the wrapped gifts. Do I put them under the tree or do I hide them? After some back and forth I finally decided to hide them until maybe Saturday. It was already after 10am. I decided rather than hurry into work that I would do a little work from home and then go for my run. That way I wouldn't carry a burden to work with me. Good plan! The run pretty much eased my anxiety. I felt so much better afterwards. It was now almost 10:45am. I took a quick shower and headed into work. Once at work, I hunkered down for the next six hours. I took only one break to eat my packed lunch. The time went fast, though, and before I knew it, it was time to head home. I stayed around work until almost 5:30pm. This was a Mindy Monday so we would have a little more than an hour together before the kids got home. When I finally arrived home we walked Ykraps together. To be efficient, we dropped the Schultz's Crock Pot off too. While there, Mindy gave Lisa our email address so she could send us the delicious buffalo chicken dip recipe. Back at home we ate left over party food for dinner. We had meatballs, baby sausages, and buffalo chicken dip. Mindy had some Barley's chicken wings, too. For dessert, I had a piece of my chocolate chip cheesecake. After we cleaned up, the kids arrived home. They were full of energy. Mindy made Jacob do his homework first thing in the door. Not long after, she chased them both upstairs to ready for bed. I joined later for the read and tuck. For one reason or another, Bella got a little snippy with her momma. That earned her a quick time-out. It didn't last long. Suddenly she wanted to be a cooperator! By 7:45pm both kids were in bed and asleep. Back downstairs I finished updating my weekend blog entries. At 8:40pm I went in to watch MNF - the Bengals and the Colts. I watched a little of South Park, too. Great show but it was a rerun from 2000. I switched back to the game and fell asleep. Finally, at about 10:45pm, I headed up to bed.

An off-shore sweat shop

1) An actual flower factory 2) Bella, not so happy I woke Sunday morning around 7:30am wide awake. When I went to bed I wasn’t sure if I’d have a hangover or not and was wise enough to swallow a couple of Advil before climbing into bed. As it turned, I felt great. More than the Advil, I am sure it everything to do with all the food I ate. I can’t remember the last time I ate so much. And it’s not that I ate large portions. Instead, I simply ate _all_night long. Mindy asked that I keep quiet as not to wake the kids. Not only was she interested in getting more sleep but she knew that her kids would be real buggers if they got up at their usual time. Bella stayed up until midnight and Jacob was up until about 11:30pm. A lot of kids would still get up at their usual time after such an event, I warned. Still, I was careful about making much noise. I exercised, made coffee, and walked Ykraps. I was surprised how warm it was when he and I walked. It was already in the 50’s and it wasn’t even 8am. I returned home for some coffee and some surfing keeping in mind Mindy’s request to be silent. It wasn’t long before Mindy joined me downstairs while Bella lounged in our bed watching a DVD. Jacob, Mindy reported, was still asleep. I dressed and left for a run just after 9am. Once again, I took Trabue Rd. It just feels better – more wideopeness. I returned from my run somewhere close to 9:40am. Mindy had made crescent rolls for the kids, and they smelt really good. I had one. She had already cleaned up all the remaining party mess, too. Bless her! After a little more coffee, I grabbed my guitar and headed onto the deck. It was sunny and warm, and December 17th! Before long Mindy and Bella joined me on the deck. We stayed out there for about 30 minutes. When we finally went back inside, Jacob asked if I would play some football with him in the basement playroom. I did. We played knee football for almost an hour. My knees were sore from running on them. He won 77-73. It was nearly time for NFL football when we finished up. Mindy had already started addressing our holiday cards. Bella was quietly watching a video in the family room and I didn’t have the heart (or guts) to overthrow her. Jacob and I went up to my room to watch some football. I fell asleep after the first quarter and probably slept until about 2:15pm waking only a couple of times as Jacob moved nervously about. Where had the day gone? I took a shower then headed downstairs where I enjoyed some of the buffalo chicken dip Pat Schultz brought & left at our party last night. It was doubly delicious!! While I chowed, Mindy showered. Our afternoon plan called for dinner at Gloria’s and perhaps even a stop at the Flower Factory to get party favor gifts for the upcoming family Xmas party. We left for Gloria’s around 3:15pm. Gloria was more than happy to entertain the kids while Mindy and I ran to the Flower Factory, which is only 2 miles from her home. Immediately in the door, I likened it to a rundown Garden Ridge. It was crowded too. We didn’t loli-gag around. We went right for the kiddie toy area. We found oodles of toys that will make perfect little gifts for all the kids next Saturday. While there, Mindy grabbed a few things she needed for a class project too. We were back at Gloria’s by about 4pm. I wasn’t in the door five minutes when Jacob asked me to go out and throw the football with him. I did even though I was a little achy form our earlier game. We threw the foot ball for about twenty minutes or more. I went in as the sun began to sink on the western horizon. And it wasn’t long before dinner was ready. We had lasagna, barbeque beef, potatoes and green beans, and rolls. It was very good and very filling. For dessert, Gloria made cinnamon bread, and we brought some chocolate chip cookies and the rest of our chocolate chip cookie cheesecake. I had a piece of my cheesecake since I didn’t eat any last night. Mindy was very tired and had been all weekend. We left Gloria’s around 6:38pm – likely the earliest ever. We were home even before 7pm. Jacob insisted on walking Ykraps with me but turned for home after about 50 paces. He said his feet hurt. Ykraps and I went on without him. We were back in short order. Mindy already has the kids I the bathtub. I surfed the net catching up on all of the day’s NFL action. Incidentally, the Vikings lost. Crap! Mindy asked me to join the read and tuck. I spent the lion’s share of my time in with Bella while Jacob read with his momma. After the kids were fast sleep – about 7:30pm – we went back downstairs and had a glass of wine & chatted.

Plop-Plop, Fizz-Fizz...

1) Paul's - a Grandview tradition 2) a slice of our holiday party 3) bung holio! A Friday night at Barley’s and I didn’t take Advil before going to bed. A smarter plan would’ve included doing just that. Even though I drank only three beers, I woke a number of times with a mild headache that wouldn’t go away on its own. Finally, when I couldn’t take it any longer (around 7am) I fumbled my way to the medicine chest only to find it void of any Advil. Crap! I knew that I had some in my travel kit, however, so I made my way to the spare room where it was stored along with all the rest of our luggage. After choking two Advil I crawled back into bed for another 30 minutes of rest. I woke again around 7:30am and felt a whole lot better. I wasted little time getting going with my day. I made a pot of Starbucks, whipped out my exercise, and walked Ykraps. The morning air was much colder than I expected given that the high temp was expected to approach 60 degrees. In fact, we even had frost scattered about. We didn’t have the kids so the house was quiet when I returned from my walk. Mindy remained in bed. I poured myself a cup of coffee and spent the next half hour surfing the web. Around 8:45am I dressed for a run a quietly ventured out without waking Mindy. I took the Trabue Rd trail, and the traffic was minimal. Despite it being sunny, the air was still much chillier than recent days. I was back from my run by 9:40am. Mindy was up and in the kitchen having coffee. I spent the next ten minutes replacing two of three blue spot lights in my backyard uplighting with green and red to add some holiday flare. Back inside, Mindy was putting the finishing touches on the shopping list for our holiday party later tonight. I asked Mindy if she wanted to go out for breakfast first. She did. I asked that she ready quickly. We left for Paul’s Pantry in Grandview around 1035am. Surprisingly, it wasn’t nearly as packed as I thought it might be. There were several tables still available, although they had a shortage of help. We were seated after just a few minutes wait. Mindy ordered a designer omelet. I ordered two eggs over medium, ham, and home fries. Breakfast was good. We left Paul’s around 11:20am destined for the Grandview/Arlington Kroger. As expected, Kroger was quite crowded. We didn’t mind, though. We were doing good on time. We got some party goodies – food, beer, wine, ice, etc. Mindy spent about $122. We wound are way back home through Arlington down Cambridge and back to Trabue. It’s such a beautiful drive, especially around Xmas. We were home just afternoon. After putting away the groceries, Mindy and I split some of the house cleaning chores to help expedite the process. She asked me to vacuum the house while she did two of the bathrooms. I took the extra time to feather dust and vacuum all the nooks and cranny’s too. Because of this, it took over an hour. I also watered all the house plants. After finishing the vacuuming, I scrubbed our shower stall. To do the job effectively, I always dawn a swim suit or undies so that I can get wet. Because we use Clorox bathroom cleaner between scrubbings, it doesn’t get to dirty expect for the white acrylic shower floor. I used Comet bathroom cleaner and Clorox, allowing it to soak before I scrubbed it. That took about an hour, too. I was finished with my two big chores around 2:30pm. Mindy headed to church to do the alter but would only be gone a short while. While she was gone I got busy making a chocolate chip cookie cheesecake. By the time I was pulling it out of the oven she was just back from church. For the next hour we worked to get the rest of the party food going in our crock pots and Mindy put the finishing touches on the décor. It looked great! It was now about 4:30pm. We were expecting the kids by 5pm and our guests to begin arriving near 6:30pm. The kids arrived right on queue – 5pm. Jacob and I watched the Buckeye basketball game for the next hour or so. The kids were juiced about the party, even more so that Mindy. 6:30pm came quickly. Everything was set. The first guests showed up just after 6:30pm and we had a steady stream from there on. At one point we had about six teachers present, and a few really cute ones. Most folks brought something to drink and eat. And when our Barley’s friends arrived we had a few growlers of micro brew along with some Barley appetizers – wings and nachos. Mindy had a basket full of party favors all ready for our kiddie guests. Those went over well. Some of our guests left early and we had just as many late arrivals keeping the number of attendees about the same. The party thinned around 10pm but our last guest didn’t leave until about midnight. In fact, Mindy cleaned up a large portion of the food and dishes while talking with our last guest, Tara who didn’t arrive until almost 10pm. We had a good time, and we think everyone who attended did too. We’ll be doing a similar event next Saturday for family.

Friday: A Barley's night

Friday at Barleys! Up late - 5:50am Work - warm day - windy run Xmas shoppng after work - Tuttle, Home Depot, & Target. Talked with Dodie tonight on my drive home. She'll be coming on the 23rd. Barley's... 1) Rick 2) Jeremy & Courtney 3) Bob 4) Tommy 5) Mindy 6) Jimmy

Damn Sofa!

Even after going to bed rather early the night before, I slept a little late. I didn’t get out of bed until almost 5:50am. I felt good, though. I went through my usual morning paces and didn’t rush myself. Somehow or another I managed to get back on track with the clock during food prep. I guess things just went faster than usual. By 7:00am we were sitting for breakfast. Jacob was up with us while Bella remained firmly planted in her bed. She was up a few times during the night crying that her legs itched and insisting on some cream. Mindy always accommodates to bring peace. Mindy looked awfully tired this morning for it. She reported feeling exhausted and perhaps on the verge of getting sick. Uh-oh! She left at her normal time. She asked that I remember to upload our family Xmas pic to the CVS webpage and order 80 prints before I left for the day. I told her I would. I went about my shower and found my way back downstairs by 7:35am. I took care of several pressing issues before leaving for work. And just as mindy requested, I uploaded the desired photo and created an online account just for her. I sent her a confirmation so that she could pick-up the finished photos on her way home from school. I made the decision to drive the BM’er to work. The weather forecast called for sunny and almost 60 degrees. Last year at this time we were in the deep freeze. I figured I oughta take advantage of such nice weather because this time of year we could be in the freezer for 45 days on end. To drive the BM’er meant I had to work some logistics. I had to move the Trooper onto the street and out of my path. Too, I had to grab the garage door opener from it as well. No biggie. It was still a little brisk. It was only about 43 degrees. But with the heater on my knuckles and the seat warmer on, I was plenty cozy. It was an invigorating drive. I’m glad I chose to drive it. The only draw back to driving the BM’er was that any after work Xmas shopping would have to be postponed until I have the Trooper. Again, no biggie! Work went well, but it was a very busy day. My boss kept me hoping all morning long. My mom called me on my cell phone to let me know that she finally received the flowers I sent for her B-day. She said they were the most beautiful flowers that she’s ever received. They did deliver them a day late. I will address that with my florist later. She shared the findings from her most recent medical tests which point to clogged arteries as the likely cause. They will most likely need to place some stints in her arteries. She’ll learn more later. She’ll also be off of work for another week. I invited her to our family Xmas open house on the 23rd. She was tentative about coming, however, for not wanting to upset Sheila. I explained that no one would find it unusual for my mother to be at my home for Xmas – duh - even Sheila. She’s not so sure, but agreed to think about it. We discussed burial plot issues - hers, dads, etc. She proclaimed wanting to be buried with her boys and not with her mother. I pointed out the incongruence of that idea. She chooses to live far from us and not visit very often but wants to be buried by us. Likes us better dead I suppose! J I left for my run around 12:45pm. It was nearly 56 degrees when I departed, although the sky wasn’t the brilliant blue I had assumed it to be. Instead, it was somewhat overcast. And once again, there was a steady and swift breeze coming out of the SW. For whatever reason, it got to me today, but what a difference when at my back! I was looking forward to my packed lunch after my run. I made tunafish salad for the first time in over a month. It was delicious! I had a busy afternoon. The hope of a quiet Xmas season has not yet manifested. I’m certain it will in the next couple of days, however. I wrapped up my day just after 5pm and left the building into an almost dark evening. Even though it was dark, it was still warmer than it was this morning. The drive home wasn’t bad at all. I took the back way even though I-270 didn’t look too backed up. I just prefer to take the winding back roads in the BM’er. I was home just before 5:30pm – no real traffic jams. Mindy thawed steaks for dinner that I promised to cook after returning from walking Ykraps. She doesn’t trust herself to cook the steaks, thus always asks me to do it. For whatever reason, she always overcooks them. So, after walking Ykraps I put the steaks in the broiler. She told me that the 80 Xmas pictures from CVS had cut Jacob out of the photo. When she asked them about it, they told her that they don’t even see them. They just print the file to the size prescribed with no control over quality. Hmm? I simply sent them the jpeg as the webpage indicated. While the steaks cooked, I found a way to format the jpeg to a 4X6 photo before saving. CVS told her that if she brought the file in on a CD that they could ensure they didn’t crop out an important subject and could maintain quality control over color and luminance. Before burning to CD I finished cooking the steaks and sat down to dinner with the family. While we enjoyed steak, Bella enjoyed leftover pizza, and Jacob enjoyed a Mexican microwave meal. They don’t care for steak. We had a nice garden salad along with some broccoli and cheese. It turned out very good. After dinner I made quick work of the dinner dishes. I was eager to get back on the photo issue along with other Xmas related projects. Mindy raced the kids upstairs for a bath while I toiled at the PC. I went upstairs to join in for the read and tuck. I spent my time with Bella. She’s gotten used to me tucking her in and now insists on it. Jacob, on the other hand, could care less. Once back downstairs, I poured myself a glass of Spumante’. That just sounded so good! My plan was to observe the Blue Jackets game too. We’re on a five game winning streak. It’s the longest I can recall, although I’m told we’ve had longer. Mindy and I sat together for a few before she headed to bed early – about 8:30pm. She was exhausted and it was that time of the month. Just after she went to bed, someone rang the door bell. It was Pat and Lisa, our neighbors and friends. They stopped in to confirm our party details figuring that I don’t’ always answer my phone. True! We chatted for a few all the while Mindy slept. I offered them a drink but they declined citing a need to get home to Eleana, their ten year old daughter who’s celebrating her birthday today. Just as I thought he might, Pat didn’t totally buy into the Coyote story in my blog. I, however, insisted and declared my expertise having seen plenty of them around work. We both agreed that it was a good thing for ridding us of the pesky & invasive Canadian geese. After they departed I returned to the sofa where I watched a little network TV. I saw part of Office, Scrubs, and 30 Rock. I kept going in and out of sleep, however, so I saw all of nothing. I did manage to see the BJ’s tie the hockey game at four. I woke on the sofa with a back ache at 10:45pm and mustered enough energy to make it up to bed. Damn sofa!

Olivia visits Grandpa!

Wednesday morning came around quickly. I was up and out of bed on time – roughly 5:30am. I woke already feeling stressed over the fast approaching holiday and the seemingly endless stream of social events. I reminded myself to drink it all in rather than stress/worry about it. Why do it if it’s not fun? I felt a lot better after my up close and personal pep talk. Ykraps and I did our walk on another unusually warm pre-winter morning. The moon, a bit less than half, was high in the sky and extremely bright due to the clear skies. I packed lunches and made our breakfast just as I always do. Nothing out of the ordinary this morning. I did make time to play the saxophone again this morning before leaving for work. Work was steady. We had a staff meeting this morning where we reviewed holiday staffing for on-call and such. Unfortunately, even though I am on vacation, I will be on-call over Xmas weekend. The luck of the draw, I guess. We also planned a Mngmt staff Xmas outing for next Wednesday evening at a venue to be named later. I left for my run near 1pm – a bit latter than usual. Things got dicey leading up to run time. The weather was nice with temperatures hovering around 55 and the sun shining rather brightly. But as is often the case, there was a stiff & chilly breeze blowing out of the SW. That’ll pretty much be a permanent fixture all winter. The only variant will be whether it’s out of the NW or the SW. The NW version is most often accompanied by much colder temps. I worked up quite a sweat on my run. It felt good to get out of my sweat soaked clothes and get in the shower. I was back in my office just after 2pm. The afternoon was as busy as the mid-morning. I talked with Mindy after she got out of school. We agreed that I would be going Xmas shopping immediately after work. She would be running errands. Later she called to see if I wanted to meet her for dinner since it was a Mindy Wednesday, but I declined for wanting/needing to Xmas shop. We can go to dinner anytime. As 5pm approached, I made a quick exit from the office. I was determined to make several key Xmas shopping stops. I called Mindy once again and she informed me that she made arrangements for Ashley to come visit with Olivia and that she was going to forego choir practice. That made me happy. That meant I didn’t need to worry about a deadline that would be difficult to meet. That helped frame my evening in a more positive light. I was able to knock several gifts off my list. Come 7:30pm I was headed for home. I stopped at no less than six places, not including Minelli’s where I picked up a pizza just before heading home. At home I first secured the gifts I purchased then went in to visit with Ashley and Olivia. I woofed down several pieces of pizza at the same time. I was awfully hungry. While Mindy prepared the kids for bed, I took some Xmas pictures of Ashley and Olivia by the Xmas tree. They turned out nicely. Ashley departed somewhere near 9pm. I noted how quickly her body has bounced back in shape after only having a baby 7 weeks ago. She has only a little bit of tummy left over and that’s it. Mindy and I took the opportunity before she left to discuss her future plans with her – a subject we’ve avoided till now. We’ve avoided it so that she could focus her full attention on Olivia, but it is time to begin thinking seriously about her own career and future. After Ashley left, we talked about the coming events and everything we each need to do. It doesn’t seem like much until you realize there’s hardly anytime to rest and relax – something both of us like to do. We went to bed around 10pm ET.